Mold Maintenance

best practices

Cures for Common Hot-Runner Wiring Problems

In the challenging environment of the last several years, manufacturers are looking inward to improve their manufacturing processes, streamline their supply chains, lower maintenance costs, andimprove their bottom lines.

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Tooling Know-How

The Value of 20 Bits of Data

With these 20 bits of data, toolrooms can drastically lower the cost of keeping molds running and improve mold reliability and tooling life while reducing breakdowns and molding better parts.

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Don’t Just Be a ‘Replacer’

To be a skilled troubleshooter is about understanding how your molds function, paying attention to the details, establishing a consistent troubleshooting method, and using historical data to guide your tooling replacement decisions

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Mold Maintenance Training Eases Molder's Growing Pains

Automation Plastics in Aurora, Ohio (automationplastics.com), is a 32-year-old custom injection molder with 50,500 ft² and 30 presses from 35 to 700 tons.

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Tooling Know-How

The Tools of Tool Maintenance

The root cause of many mold and part issues are ultimately determined by the ability to measure something within one or two tenths of a mil. Readings with precision measuring tools can determine whether a tooling component is to be reused, reworked, or scrapped out.

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Create a Maintenance Work (Bench) Cell

Get better results by improving the organization of your mold-maintenance operation.

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Tooling: Setting Up Shop: Part III

Our last column covered shop size and bench requirements for a 50 x 50 ft mold-repair shop that will have a MPP (Mold Pull Pace) of approximately 25 to 30 multi-cavity molds a week and employ four repair technicians in a six-bench layout.

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Confessions of a Mold Manual Junkie

OK, I admit it, I’m a manual junkie.

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Determining Maximum Mold Cycle Counts

The first production meeting with my new employer went something like this: “We want you to establish a preventive maintenance program that is based on cycle counts for all our molds.” Before I could launch into an explanation of how best to determine maximum cycle counts, I was hit with this: “So, how many cycles do you think our molds can safely run before we need to clean them?”Leaving my crystal ball at home and unable to get my x-ray vision working, there was no way to answer that question with any accuracy.

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When Assembling Molds, Patience is THE Virtue

Installing and fitting close-tolerance tooling requires patience, a steady hand, attention to detail, and the ability to “read” resistance.

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Processing additives for Plastics recycling stream
Improved Stainless 420 ESR
Vacuum Tech for Plastics Manufacturers
quick mold change solutions injection molders
New 2024 Twin Screw Report
New Tinius Olsen VectorExtensometer testing
Gardner Business Media, Inc.
Insert molding automation
Experience the Ultimate NPE